The seasons are shifting. The air is still hot and muggy, but every day the sun sets earlier. On the fringes of the woods, the first leaves turn yellow. Honey-rich Autumn light plays across cornfields where tassels and ears are stiff and brown. Like delinquent children, our pumpkin vines have run rampant across our yard. But the vines are yellowing now and plump, orange pumpkins nestle in high grass speckled with Goldenrod and Aster. Soon, we'll cut the withered cords, store them in the root cellar, and make our annual pilgrimage to Schober's orchard so that we can make applesauce from crisp, fresh picked Honey Crisps, Empire, Braeburns, and Gingergolds.
As the days shorten, we move away from long weekends at the beach and transition into school and work routines.
Luckily, Mabon (the Autumn Equinox) reminds us of the need to find balance even as we transition --to let go of some things to make way for others that fit this season of our lives. The Second Harvest is a time to rejoice and give thanks for nature's bounty and all that is fruitful and positive in our lives.
But even as we celebrate abundance, we know that The Wheel of The Year will turn toward darkness, cold, scarcity, and death. The bountiful Mother WILL become the wise Crone. Knowing this, we embrace duality--the abundance and beauty of this day, this time as well the knowledge that soon the earth will become barren and that--like falling leaves-- we must let go of those parts of our lives that we have outgrown--to look within and discern and embrace the darkness without which light would have no meaning.
